Wednesday, 7 February 2018

Here's a little job which I have been putting off for a long time - embroidering my name on my Dear Jane quilt. Now it is done there is nothing stopping it from being quilted. Then all I need to do is the scallop edge ....

Thursday, 21 December 2017

I have taken some time today to count my Dear Jane pieces. As you may know, the original has her name and a count of all the pieces in the original Dear Jane quilt. It is a job I have been putting off, thinking it would be long a tedious, but no so. I also managed to find some rogue paper pieces along the way. In total I have 5163 pieces in my Dear Jane quilt. Jane Stickle had 5602. I have clearly introduced modern day efficiencies into mine. All I need to do now is to embroider the details onto the quilt. Can you think of any other cryptic messages I should include?

Thursday, 7 September 2017

I have had a few days where I have spent time moving a few projects forward. Firstly, the Dear Jane quilt has been pulled out and I have made a big effort to remove all the papers. This is slow. Very slow. I have done over half, but I have now left it out so that I can go and pick at it in odd moments. Once this is done I need to count all the pieces so that I can embroider the total on the corner block.

Then I saw that the September colour for the Rainbow Scrappy Challenge had been released. I know that my progress on this had lapsed, but when I looked back I realised I was 5 months behind. Again, I pulled out my remaining Kim Diehl fabrics and cut enough to keep me quiet for a while. I sewed a few, but some serious machine stitching time is required on this one.

Finally, for a second time, I forgot to enter Suzi into the 2017 Pets on Quilts competition. So please enjoy this photo of her.

Friday, 7 July 2017

I thought I had better put up a post as my dedicated followers (Jocelyn / Mollie) have been wondering what I have been up to. Last time I posted I had just started the La Passacaglia quilt and in the picture you can see the progress. This one is much harder than the previous projects as there are a lot of design decisions along the way. Life was so simple when it was just a little Dear Jane block to do. Naturally I want to put my own twist on it and finding the time to do that has been the obstacle. It demands a lot of different fabrics and as a result my workroom has imploded with fabric and there is currently restricted access. I haven't had time for the Scrappy Challenge and Dear Jane is still waiting for her papers to be taken out.I have also been creatively sidetracked with other creative stuff. I bought a Gelli plate and it has re-ignited my interest in mixed media. Then I bought a Brother Scan N Cut once I realised I could cut all my English paper pieces from it - yes it really can.If you are wondering what sewing I am really up to, you had better head over to my other blog. There is no shortage of sewing going on there and it probably the best place to find me / Follow me if you want to check I am still alive.

Monday, 20 March 2017

Have you seen this one before? I don't think you have. It is the last block that I have to show you as part of my Dear Jane quilt journey. It is Border block BR2 Leigh's Wood.My head still has settled on the next project. It has been over 4 weeks since I had a hand piecing project to haul about with me and I am still suffering from cold turkey.

Friday, 17 March 2017

Here is Border Block TR2 Australian Pines from the Dear Jane quilt. I haven't got any further removing the papers from my Dear Jane. It seems like a job you would do when you have nothing more important to do. At the moment there are plenty of important things to do, so my Dear Jane is sitting quietly in a cupboard.

Wednesday, 15 March 2017

I haven't neglected the last few Dear Jane blocks and I will post the remaining three over the next few days. This is Border Block TR12 Jane's Oak. For me this was the most challenging block. Just 4 pieces, but that appliqued oak leaf was a struggle. I pretty much had the whole quilt together before I had a second attempt at this block. Give me tiny pieces any day!

Friday, 3 March 2017

Miracle of miracles! I actually took a photo of this border block, BR12 Jessie's Stained Glass.I have seen many, many Dear Jane attempts which never go the full stretch because the triangles look difficult. This one has just 18 pieces and as in the case of most of the triangles, there are less pieces than some of the 4.5" blocks. Have a go.Techniques:English Paper PiecingPieces: 18 pieces

Wednesday, 1 March 2017

Here is a view from the back of my Dear Jane quilt as it is in its current status. It is all together, just another border and the papers to remove. This photo shows it in all its English Paper Piecing glory.The photo is also to distract you from the fact that I did not do a collective photo of Draw 56, the little square orange blocks and that I swiftly moved on to Draw 57 - the FINAL one, which is a set of border triangles.Draw 57TR2 - Australian PinesTR12 - Jane's OakBR2 - Leigh's WoodsBR12 - Jessie's Stained GlassThis Draw will be in Red

Thursday, 23 February 2017

I am scraping together the final blocks of my Dear Jane quilt. This one is M11 Rickshaw. As I said before, the photo is taken with the block sewn into the quilt, the paper and basting stitches still in, so it looks a little peculiar.The next job with this quilt is to add up the number of pieces, maybe I should have done as I was going along ....

Monday, 13 February 2017

Here is Dear Jane block E12 Mary Ruth's Corset. It is a bit of a 'warts and all' photo as I have had to take it stitched into the quilt. To me it appears to highlight the English Paper tacking / basting threads. Below you can see the evidence that the paper is still in.

Dear Jane quilt helper

Suzi and I have reached a compromise regarding my priority of role of main lap provider versus Dear Jane quilt stitcher.

Tuesday, 31 January 2017

More Dear Jane blocks, this time L8 Box Kite. Through this Dear Jane journey I have had plenty of ideas for different Dear Jane's. I know many, many people make more than one Dear Jane quilt. This is a true fact. Yes, I think I could join the group, but then there are so many other projects I could be doing.Techniques:English Paper PiecingPieces: 15 pieces

Tuesday, 24 January 2017

Thank you for all the supportive comments about my last post. My Dear Jane blocks have been laid out on my floor since October, so they are quite a familiar sight for me, but I guess the glimpse I gave you revealed the actual progress I am making.In getting this blog post together I have realised that my photographic record taking of each block and set of blocks lapsed near the end when the excitement of getting it together took momentum. This is the last 'set' picture I have and some of the blocks did not even get their photo taken before I had sewn them in!In our progress there are only 8 more blocks to show you. Once they are done what will I have to show you each day? I still don't have anything planned for 2017.Draw 56E12 - Mary Ruth's CorsetH7 - Bennington StarM11 - RicshawL8 - Box KiteThis Draw will be in Orange

Sunday, 22 January 2017

I am pretty laid back when it comes to timescales I take to make a English Paper Pieced quilt - I am in no hurry. However, once it is no longer portable I tend to get less time to work on it and it seems to take for ever to come together. I am at that stage now with my Dear Jane quilt. I have at last got all the Dear Jane square blocks together, along with the sashing and the cornerstones and I am now finally working on the border triangles.Also I would like to welcome Laura Bender who is my 300th Follower on my blog!

Tuesday, 17 January 2017

Some people are always amazed that I am completing the Dear Jane quilt using the English Paper method. I EPPed these hearts for Dear Jane block H12 Hannah's Hearts and then appliqued them onto the background - it works just fine and no fancy Freezer paper to worry about ... just make sure you slip out the paper before you make the final last applique stitches!Over at Sarah Did It! you can find a haven of EPP.Techniques:English Paper Piecing and AppliquePieces: 5 pieces

Sunday, 15 January 2017

This round of Dear Jane blocks had surprisingly few pieces. This one, K7 Rose of Sharing had only five and if I hadn't insisted on doing some fussy cutting it would have been two.Hoping to get a bit of slow stitching done on my Dear Jane quilt today.Techniques:English Paper Piecing and AppliquePieces: 5 pieces

Saturday, 14 January 2017

My sister tried this block several times, with different techniques and different results. The trauma of all that did put the fear of God into me as I approached this Dear Jane block, E11 Wagon Wheel. I chose a quiet day of stitching where I knew I could concentrate on some heavy duty applique / reverse applique. In the end it only had 7 pieces, it was stress free and I was quite pleased with how it came out in the end.Techniques:English Paper Piecing and AppliquePieces: 7 pieces